DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) The Low Vision Intervention Study Panning Grant (LoVIS) is designed to enable the successful performance of a subsequent clinical study. The long-term objectives of the clinical study are to quantify the outcome of low vision intervention, using quality of life as the primary outcome measure. The primary specific aim of the anticipated clinical study addresses the question: Is low vision intervention effective in improving health-related quality of life? Secondary specific aims for the subsequent clinical study are: What is the relationship between changes in quality of life and changes in use and utility of low vision aids, and performance-based measures of visual performance? What are the predictors of successful intervention? The specific aims of the planning grant are: To develop the Manual of Procedures for the subsequent clinical study; To establish the necessary organizational structure for the clinical study; To resolve scientific and clinical issues before launching the subsequent clinical study through performance of pilot studies. There have previously been no large-scale controlled studies of the outcome of low vision services. In consideration of the age-related nature of the major vision-threatening disorders, as well as the accelerating growth of the aged population in this country, the impact of low vision intervention has increasingly important public health implications. The recent development of quality of life assessment instruments offers a valuable opportunity to evaluate low vision intervention using this global measure of life state.